Figure 1.--Here we see a mothger with her two boys in the 1950s. The older boy wears Lederhosen. His little brother wears H-bsr shorts, but not Lederhosen. The older boy wear white knee socks and "t"-bar strap shoes with his Lederhosen.

We note German boys wearing all kinds of different types of hisiery with Lederhosen. Kneesocks seem to have been the most common, but by the 1950s we see fewer boys wearing knee socks and by the 1960s kneesocks were going out of style xo we see many boys wearing ankle socks with Lederhosen. We have noted boys wearing long stockings, but this was less common than knee socks. This was in part because many older boys wearing Lederhosen no longer wore long stockings. Also as Lederhosen were becoming increasingly common, long stockings were becoming less popular. Still we see a number of boys wearing them. A good example is an unidentified family in the early 50s. We have also noted boys wearing tights, but this was not very common for short pants Lederhosen. It was somewhat more common for knicker-lengh Lederhosen. When not wearing the calf cuff, kneesocks were commonly worn with Lederhosen. The calf-cuffs seem to have been mostly worn as part of folk costumes. These are called split socks or "Loferl". Often we see boys wearng the bulky hand-knitted kneesocks.

Knee Socks

Knee socks seem to have been the most common type of hosiery worn with Lederhosen. The photographic record shows large numbers of boys wearing knee socks with Lederhosen.

Ankle Socks

We see German boys wearing Lederhosen with short socks beginning in the 1930s. Actually this was often boys who had rolled down their ankle socks. By the 1950s we see fewer boys wearing knee socks and by the 1960s kneesocks were going out of style so we see many boys wearing ankle socks with Lederhosen.

Long Stockings

We have noted many German boys wearing long stockings with Lederhosen, but this was less common than boys wearing knee socks with Lederhosen. Several factors were involved. A major factor was seasonality. We mostly see German boys wearing long stockings during the winter and cool weather. This basic trend was true for Lederhosen like other types of short pants. In the early and mid-20th century, German boys wore short pants all year round, not just in the summer. Thus when the weather got cold, mothers insisted on long stockings. Another important factor was age. Many older boys wearing Lederhosen no longer wore long stockings. Also as Lederhosen were becoming increasingly common, long stockings were becoming less popular. Still we see a number of boys wearing them. A good example is an unidentified family in the early 50s. Another factor is chronology. Long stockings declined in the 1950s and virtually disappeared in the 60s. They were worn mostly in Rast Germany during the 60s. And for some reason we do not see tights being worn with Lederhosen like long stockings were, at least the short pants Lederhosen.

Tights

We have also noted boys wearing tights, but this was not very common for short pants Lederhosen. We do see some younger boys wearing tights in the 1960s. An example is an unidentified boy in 1967. It was somewhat more common for knicker-lengh Lederhosen. When not wearing the calf cuff, kneesocks were commonly worn with Lederhosen.

Loferl

The calf-cuffs seem to have been mostly worn as part of folk costumes. These are called split socks or "Loferl". Often we see boys wearng the bulky hand-knitted kneesocks.

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Created: 7:19 AM 6/10/2009
Last updated: 8:42 PM 12/20/2010